Words to live by....

Do, or do not. There is no try.

You must unlearn all that you have learned.

the invisible man

Sitting in a theatre by one's self isn't bad at all, depending on your perspective, or at the very least, your state of mind.

You see, some of us are invisible in plain sight. Whether by choice or not, we live in the shadows of the mainstream, around the corner from the majority.

Maybe we secretly hope that some cataclysmic event will change our future, our fortune in life, giving new energy to the cells coarsing through the bloodstream to go a different direction.

If I was invisible, truly invisible, maybe someone will see me for what I am.

Baby Boomer Generation texting

Thank goodness for modern technology. On second thought, scratch that. Replace with the thought " Thank goodness older people are learning how to use modern technology to keep their children in the loop about their health".

If you aren't a person who has an aging baby boomer parent, consider yourself lucky. but if you are ( like I am), I am glad that I get picture text messages from my Mum letting me know that all went went at the Doctor's, with a little note updating me on the procedure and her current condition.

It might sound lame, but knowing they can do this gives me comfort that they can still communicate quickly with us. ( emergency or non-emergency, like bring a salad for Sunday dinner...)

Which is a big relief and one less worry to have.

Thanks for the picture text Mum.

Black Swan

Do you know what a ballerina puts their body through to perform at a high level?

Can you imagine the pain, the focus, the pressure?

Are you comfortable with your own sexuality? One wonders what that even means.....identity, exploration, love....orgasms.....

A life pursuit of perfection can lead to a split in consciousness. If you don't know what that means, look in the mirror to see the dichotomy of your own self. Accept what you see, don't be afraid. Embrace what you are, or at least what your mind hopes for your body to be.

You reach your climax, your goal you set for yourself in life, only to find that upon reaching your expectation your soul dies, is the pursuit worth the effort?

Winter sunsets

A friend reaches out to me today

just to see how I am.

The thoughtfulness warms me

and I realize, again, the power of kindness.

At the market, I smile at the Salvation Army volunteer

as my coins drop in the familiar red bucket.

We exchange pleasantries.

An old man drops some items outside,

and a women stops to help him gather what was lost.

He is so grateful.

The winter sunsets here are magical,

as is the wonder of this time of year.

the dolphin slaughter continues....

When I first heard about what was happening in Taiji, I was appalled. I spread the word about seeing The Cove, and told anyone who would listen about things they could do to help prevent this horrible animal slaughter.

One of those things people could do was boycott going to Sea World and similiar animal parks. Under the guise of studying these creatures, the parks are supporting slaughters such as the one in Taiji.

But my ranting and raving fell on deaf ears. My own family just recently returned from a trip to San Diego, which included going to Sea World.

I tried a new approach, a silent protest. I did not go with them, did not tell my niece and nephew about my feelings about Sea World. No preaching came from me. When I saw them after they returned, I politely asked them how it was, but with a melancholy heart.

I write this now as Ric Barry has a new post up on his blog about how the killing has returned to Taiji. I hope that with constant attention to this from people such as Ric and little bloggers as myself, we can make a difference.

Marcel the Shell

"Do you know what I use for a pen?....a pen, but it takes the whole family"

This could very well be some of the best one liners from a seashell ever.

Agree?

or maybe not.....

Ethiopian Chicken Stew...eventually

I wish that people would remember, really truly remember, what the fifth of November is all about.

Sadly they won't. They only see the most immediate of problems, and want only the most immediate of solutions.

Right or Wrong.

All of America is voting today. But for what? not the greater good.

but that is up to interpretation.

As is this vignette, and all of life, I suppose.

Harsh thoughts are preventing me from moving, cancelled a show I had tickets to last night.

Sat in a corner staring and waiting for answers.

maybe Sufjan would have been better....

or maybe not.

I made Doro Wat and thought of you

I wish you were here to share this with me.

Big Think

 All one can do is continue to articulate, read books, and write blogs expressing your point of view.
 

Joel Burns

The last few weeks having been very hard for me. The hatred stemming from the Westboro Baptist church, Christine O'Donnell's insanity, and finally, Mormon speaker Boyd Packer's talk to his members about how being gay is a person's choice and him telling people that they can change if they want to.

I'm all about equality for all people, and when such insidiousness gets vocalized from the above groups and gets blasted across our news media, it makes me so angry. How unfair to say that gay people in the armed forces deserve to get killed by the Taliban because God hates homosexuals. And for Mr. Packer to state that "being gay" is a choice just shows how obtuse he is, and for that matter, anymore that listens to him.

But when I first heard Forth Worth councilman Joel Burns, all that anger washed away. Not because I came to terms with people's irrationality and prejudiced fears, but because I know that anger is not the solution. Understanding is. Please watch, listen, and help to end this prejudice. People are dying.